Released as expected by the Toronto RaptorsChris Paul has announced his retirement from basketball played with a post on Instagram and his social profiles. Thus ends, rather subdued, the career of one of the greatest point guards of all time 21 NBA seasons from 2005 to today“CP3” was a 12-time All-Star and 4-time NBA first team among the many individual awards obtained.
Paul had chosen to return to the LA Clippersone of the teams he played for in his career, for his final season as a professional in 2025-26 but things didn’t work out. With the team in crisis and after some disagreements in the locker room and with coach Tyronn Lue, Chris Paul was taken out of the team and then sold to the Raptors at the trade deadline.
Product of Wake ForestPaul ha made his NBA debut in 2005-06 with the shirt of New Orleans Hornetschosen in the draft with the number 4 call. For him in New Orleans 6 seasons until 2011therefore the famous trade towards the LA Clipperswhich arrived after NBA commissioner David Stern rejected his transfer to Kobe Bryant’s Lakers. Paul made the Clippers, one of the worst NBA teams historically, into a title contender in 6 more seasons until 2017 without ever reaching the conference finals. Dal 2017-18 al 2025 Chris Paul later played for the Houston Rockets where it reached the conference finals in 2018, so for the Oklahoma City Thunder hey Phoenix Sunsfor three seasons from 2020 to 2023 also reaching the NBA finals in 2021. the last stops at Golden State Warriors and there San Antonio Spurs before the unfortunately failed last “lap of honor” with the Clippers that he had helped make a competitive team in the Western Conference.
Chris Paul closes at second place in the All-Time NBA list for assists with 12552 in career behind only John Stockton, and in second place for recoveries always behind the Utah Jazz star. In 1370 NBA games held averages from 16.8 points and 9.2 assists, with 2.0 steals and 46.9% from the field with 37% from three, Paul qualified for the playoffs for 15 seasons from 2008 to 2023 and won the award as NBA Rookie of the Year in 2006. He won with the US national team two Olympic gold medals a Beijing 2008 e London 2012and a World Bronze in Japan 2006.
Chris Paul was one star in college tooin two seasons a Wake Forest before the draft, and his notoriety as a player had already begun in high school West Forsyth High School in North Carolina, when in December 2002 in his senior year he scored in one game 61 pointspurposely missing the last two free throws of a game already won, however honor the memory of his grandfather, Nathaniel Jones, killed a few days earlier while he was at work in his gas pump and service area at just 61 years old. Paul had wanted to mark a point for every year of his grandfather’s life, to remember him.
Chris Paul was also one of the greatest defenders in his position“wizard” of defensive recoveries and 7 times first NBA defensive quintet in his career, and one of the more competitive, clear-headed, cunning and intelligent players and a great player in the pressured situations and in the final seconds of matches. He will also remain famous for the aforementioned missed trade of 2011 ai Los Angeles Lakersin a particular situation: his team, i New Orleans Hornetswas at the time administered by the NBA after the owner George Shinn had had to sell the franchise, and was waiting for a new buyer. As a representative of the franchise, the then NBA commissioner David Stern had rejected a trade that would have sent Paul to the Lakers, because it was deemed “not advantageous” for the Hornets. A few days later they were i Clippers to close the exchange for CP3.
date: 2026-02-14 00:07:00
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